After redistricting, Towns ran for the open seat in the Brooklyn-based New York's 11th congressional district. Towns won the primary with a plurality of 48%.[5] He won the general election with 84% of the vote.[6] He never won a general election campaign with less than 85% of the vote.[7] He has won the Democratic primary with at least 60% of the vote all but three times (1998, 2000, and 2006).

From 1996 to 1998, Towns got into a rivalry with Brooklyn Democratic Party Chairman Clarence Norman. In addition, he has received criticism for endorsing Republican Rudy Giuliani for Mayor of New York City in 1997. He got a primary challenge from Barry D. Ford, a 35-year-old lawyer with the firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and Harvard University alumnus.[8] He faced a challenge from political activist Ken Diamondstone. Towns won the primary with 55% of the vote.[9] In 2000, Ford ran for a rematch against Towns and lost 57%-43%.[10]

Towns served on the Energy and Commerce Committee[when?] and is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. On January 7, 2009, his proposed legislation to require information on Presidential donors kicked off the new session of the 111th Congress.[16] Towns' past accomplishments include, co-sponsoring or enacting several pieces of federal legislation, including the Student Right To Know Act, which mandated the reporting of the rate of graduation among student athletes, creating the Telecommunications Development Fund, which provides capital for minority business initiatives, and the development of a federal program for poison control centers.[17]

He had been targeted by various Democratic Party constituencies, including factions led by his political rival Al Sharpton, and national and local labor unions, who resent his support for passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which passed the House of Representatives by a razor-thin margin. In addition, he has been heavily criticized for taking money from telecom PACs and opposing net neutrality.[citation needed]

Towns delayed the investigation into Countrywide Financial's VIP loan program when he was the House oversight panel's chairman by refusing to issue a subpoena for Bank of America records. After The Wall Street Journal reported that public loan documents indicated Towns had received two mortgages from the VIP program, he issued the subpoena and his office denied wrongdoing.[18]

In December 2010, he announced that he would not seek the position of Ranking Minority Member of the Oversight Committee in the next Congress, even though his seniority and service as Chair would typically result in him filling this post. Towns reportedly withdrew due to lack of support from Nancy Pelosi, who reportedly feared Towns would not be a sufficiently aggressive leader in an anticipated struggle with incoming committee chair Darrell Issa (R-CA).[19][20] Towns's successor is Elijah Cummings, who defeated Carolyn Maloney in a vote of the House Democratic Caucus.[19]

In 2011, Congressman Towns was leasing a Mercury Milan Hybrid at a cost of $1,285 per month. This was one of the highest costs of a taxpayer financed cars leased in Congress. The complete cost of the two-year lease was projected to exceed $30,000 as opposed to the $28,180 MSRP cost if it was bought new. Towns' personally financed leased Infiniti costs him $600 per month.[21]

On April 16, 2012, Towns announced his retirement. His district had been renumbered as the 8th District in redistricting and had a significant increase of white voters, though it still had a large black majority.[1]

Towns is married to the former Gwendolyn Forbes and they reside in the Cypress Hills section of Brooklyn. They have two children, Darryl (who had served in the New York State Assembly but vacated his seat to become commissioner and chief executive of New York State Homes and Community Renewal agency when appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo) and Deidra, who ran in special election to replace her brother, on a self-created ticket, Community First.[citation needed]